and you still light up the room
by beverytender
Summary: This is how their happy ever after goes.


Notes: Mini & Franky are both 31 in this, and they've got three kids: Elsie (the baby Mini has at the end of season 6), age 14, Kenzie, age 10, and Peter, age 8. They've been together for... about twelve years as of this fic.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Peter brings up the idea of them getting married, out of the blue one morning during breakfast, not long after his eighth birthday.

'Why aren't you married?' He asks, calmly, in between bites of cereal.

Mini and Franky exchange a glance over the stack of pancakes.

'Well...' Mini starts, 'We just... aren't. We just don't think it would make that much difference to our relationship. We're secure.'

'But it would,' Peter says, and they exchange another glance, worried that they'll have to explain the bullshit that is current adoption law to their brilliant son, who has already had to defend his family, but he continues with facts and statistics about taxes, living longer, healthcare and finishes up with a fierce '...and you should stick it to them!' that makes them both grin.

'What do you think, Mins, should we stick it to them?' Franky asks, eyes dancing.

'I think, if that's supposed to be a proposal, you need to do better.'

Elsie chimes in later, as they're getting ready to head out the door, 'It'll be a fantastic party,' which makes Kenzie snort, and then it's all they hear about on the way to school.

They discuss it that night before bed, in a sense, at least.

'It's not such a bad idea,' Franky says, clicking through pictures of Peter's birthday party on her laptop.

'Hm?'

'Getting married.'

Mini looks up at her so quick, so surprised, that it hurts her neck.

'What?' Franky asks.

'I don't know. I didn't think it was something you'd ever consider.'

'What does that mean?' She shuts the laptop, turns towards Mini.

'Nothing bad. Just that I didn't think you'd like being that - I don't know, tied down?'

'You think you're tying me down?'

'No, not like this, but-'

'You said you didn't think I'd like being 'that tied down' implying that I am some level of tied down already-'

'Well, sometimes, you have certainly enjoyed me tying you down.'

'Mini.'

She sighs, 'No, I don't think I'm tying you down, but I thought - I thought you wouldn't like the idea. I thought if I asked you to sign something, not to mention the whole ceremony of it... I didn't think you'd feel comfortable, I thought you might feel trapped.'

'I've never felt trapped with you.'

Mini smiles, wraps an arm around Franky's shoulders and tugs her close for a cuddle, 'I'm glad.' She kisses her forehead, 'So what makes you think it wouldn't be such a bad idea?'

Franky winces, 'That sounds so terrible repeated back.'

'It was pretty terrible, love,' Mini laughs.

'I don't know. You'd look gorgeous. And a honeymoon would be nice. I could have my way with you.'

'You could have your way with me now,' Mini suggests.

'So you've thought about proposing to me?' Franky whispers, after, head resting on Mini's chest.

Mini blushes. 'Well - yes.'

'How?'

'I can't tell you that!'

'Why not?'

'What if I need to use it one day?'

Franky lifts her head and pouts at Mini, and Mini smiles, shakes her head.

She honestly doesn't expect it to go further than that. She'll do it, but only when the time is perfect. All her plans have dates attached - Elsie's birthday, Franky's birthday, even valentine's because she could make the cliche amazing again, (New Year's used to be on the list, but the possibility of choking on a ring dropped in a champagne glass did away with it.)

But she gets home late one day, laden down with grocery bags, and she's greeted impatiently in the foyer by Elsie, 'There you are,' made to drop the bags, and shoved into the kitchen.

And then one of those not so common absolutely magical moments where Franky pulls a romantic move happens, she doesn't try very often, she doesn't think she succeeds, but when she does… it's always small kitchen table is separated from the rest of the kitchen by a small screen, and everything, walls, table, chairs, is draped in gold fabric (Mini knows it'll be reused for some other project later on and whatever that is she'll treasure it), the room is lit solely by candles and a couple small lamps, fabric draped over them as well. The table is set with the nicest dishes they have, mismatched though they are, and there's salad, poached salmon, and a platter of fresh, sliced fruit, tightly wrapped with cellophane. She can see Jeff's best grandpa apron (a matching suit with Geoff's t-shirt) stuffed hastily under one of the chairs. Franky is still fiddling with something on the counter, and doesn't even notice Mini's walked in until Mini says, once she's taken it all in,

'Oh, Franky.'

Franky turns, holding a bottle of champagne, and frowns in such a way that Mini almost expects her to stomp her feet, 'I asked her to have you wait out there!'

'You know how she gets impatient,' Mini replies, automatically, 'Does it matter? Darling, come here.'

Franky sets the bottle down on the counter and crosses the room, losing the frown along the way, wrapping her arms around Mini's waist when she reaches her. Shyly, she asks, 'Do you like it?'

'It looks amazing.' She steals a quick kiss, laughs a little, almost overwhelmed, 'It is amazing. Franky… what is all this for?' She thinks… well. Maybe, it could be, it could be for nothing, just a random burst of affection, it's not so unusual for that to happen. Not very unusual at all, actually, it's fairly regular that Franky worries she isn't romantic enough, and then she does something like this, all out, for no reason. But - so soon after that conversation...

Franky brightens, directs Mini towards a chair, 'Sit down, close your eyes - no peeking! - and it will all make sense in a moment.'

It is quite possibly the hardest thing in the world, sitting there with her eyes closed for however long, suspecting more and more -

well, no. Childbirth. And not jumping Franky's bones every day for two years.

But this is a close third.

She hears a distinct clink, and Franky curses, and then a second later she says, 'Okay, open your eyes.'

Franky has set her manikin down on Mini's plate, and there's a ring - a gorgeous, rose gold (Mini's new favourite metal, combining her two favourite colors) ring, the metal worked in swirls, nicely sized diamonds set inside the swirls, tied to the manikin's hand with a bit of gold ribbon. It's perfect. It is not the ring she would have picked when she was planning her wedding as a child. It probably isn't even the ring she would pick now.

But it's perfect. It is so clearly the ring Franky would pick out for her, and if she saw it anywhere she'd be reminded that Franky thought of her, and that was what made it perfect. That makes it everything she could possibly want.

Franky's hovering next to the chair, moving up and down slightly, hands clasped, and Mini grabs her, pulls her into her lap and kisses her once, twice, ten, a thousand times, 'Yes, yes, obviously, of course, yes.'

Notes: This is part of a series I'm writing where Mini & Franky live happy ever after (mostly, at least) forever and ever amen. It's not being posted in chronological order because it's not being written in chronological order and I don't know when I'll be done and I don't feel like waiting to post it, so. At the beginning of each piece, I'll add a note with the kids' ages and a heads up if it happens right after anything else or references anything else. If you need any other clarification, lemme know.


End file.
